The Atlanta Hawks just landed Lu Dort in a three-team trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks. The Hawks got Dort and Ryan Nembhard, the Mavs got Zaccharie Risacher, and the Thunder got three second-round picks, and more importantly, cap relief. But the Chicago Bulls should have been in on Dort this summer.
Caleb Wilson is slated to lead the Bulls into the future. Adding a guy like Dort could have helped set the culture in Chicago healing into the Wilson era. Dort is a hard-nosed, no-nonsense player who thrives on defense. Bringing that type of mindset into the organization to help set the tone for Wilson would have been ideal.
Maybe the Bulls tried to make something happen and it didn’t work out, but they should have absolutely been in on Dort.
Bulls should have traded for Lu Dort
The Bulls are in a very clear rebuild. But since the new NBA lottery odds don’t favor the teams at the very bottom, they’ve actually added some talent this summer to help them linger closer to the middle of the pack.
Chicago traded for Nicolas Claxton to address its center position, and in free agency, the Bulls signed Norman Powell. Now, a lineup of Josh Giddey, Powell, Matas Buzelis, Wilson, and Claxton doesn’t look too bad.
That said, Wilson is the clear leader for the Bulls. He was the No. 4 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft and, during his time in Summer League, showed that he could have the potential to be the future face of the franchise.
He has a long way to go if he wants to reach those heights, but the Bulls should be doing everything they can to help him get there. And setting a good culture is a great place to start.
That’s where Dort could have come into play for the Bulls. He’s the exact type of player who could have joined the roster and helped shift the Bulls’ mentality moving forward.
He doesn’t take any flak when he’s on the court. He’s never afraid to get his hands dirty. He fights hard on the defensive end and isn’t afraid of confrontation.
That’s the type of player who could have helped the Bulls establish a very defined culture at the beginning of the Wilson era in Chicago. But now, he’s going to help do that in Atlanta.
Dort would have been a nice player for the Bulls to get their hands on.
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